Families of victims from a COVID-19 outbreak at Newmarch House, a Sydney aged care facility, are set to receive compensation following a settlement with Anglicare Sydney. This comes several months after the shortcomings of the aged care provider were revealed. The tragic outbreak, which lasted from April to June 2020, resulted in 19 deaths and numerous infections among residents.
The New South Wales Supreme Court has approved the settlement, with Justice Peter Garling stating that it serves the interests of the plaintiffs and group members and is deemed fair and reasonable. The specific amount of compensation has not been disclosed.
Among the deceased was Ann Fahey, whose granddaughter, Nicole Jagodzinski, expressed that her family feels robbed of precious time due to the pandemic’s impact. The settlement represents a necessary acknowledgment of the family’s suffering after losing their loved one under such dire circumstances.
Barrister Michael Tanevski informed the court that 22 individuals are eligible for the compensation, while one other person awaits a psychiatric assessment that could determine additional eligibility. However, it was noted that three individuals registered in the class action lack a psychiatric condition linked to the outbreak and, therefore, will not receive payments.
Shine, the class action law firm representing the relatives of some victims, requires evidence of a recognised psychiatric illness tied either to the death of a relative at Newmarch or to alleged negligence by Anglicare. The firm represents families of six of the residents who died, alongside others affected by the outbreak.
Earlier investigations led by a coroner uncovered significant oversights and management failures within Newmarch House that intensified the outbreak’s effects. The coroner’s findings indicated that some fatalities might have been preventable if timely virus testing protocols had been followed. Additionally, residents faced severe shortages of food, water, and medications during the crisis, while senior executives at Anglicare were largely absent during the emergency.
In response to the devastating events, Anglicare’s CEO, Simon Miller, publicly apologised for the stress caused and the lives lost, assuring that significant improvements have been made in their COVID-19 management protocols and practices across the aged care sector since the outbreak.
This compensation is viewed as a crucial step in acknowledging the pain and losses endured by the families affected by this tragic incident.